Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 63469 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63469 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
I slept beside her, fed her, walked with her, finally ran beside her, and by the time she was a filly named Juju—’cause it was bad juju what happened to her—we were bonded heart and soul.
She was mean to everyone but me, crazy smart—like diabolically clever about getting out of a stall, corral, or anywhere she didn’t want to be—and did not ever allow anyone else to ride her. She didn’t buck; that would have been too much trouble. Instead she would just lie down. First she’d go down with her front and back legs folded under her, but if that didn’t work, she’d start to tip over until you moved because she was so damn heavy and no one wanted their leg trapped under her. My father could not believe it the first time she did it, or the second, or the fifth, but finally he threw up his hands in defeat. He’d never seen a horse that stubborn. If she’d bucked, he could have broken her, but he had no idea what to do with her passive-resistance routine. When I got on and she stood right up, ready to go do whatever I had in mind, he announced she was mine. As if there was ever any question.
Now, as I stood beside her, she bumped me, moving me until I got off her so she could munch a bit more grass in the cool shade. She was grazing, not really chowing down since she was so picky, so where we were standing would never do as actual sustenance.
It was good that I was in the back so no one had to talk to me. The dogs were spread out around her, and I went over and sat with them. One after another greeted me, with Beau, Rand’s lead canine, putting his head in my lap. Petting him, talking to the others with Juju there close, keeping an eye on me, I finally felt some of the irritation dissipate.
Had I been at home, when my staff teased me, I bantered right along with them. At my restaurant I was considered a damn good sport. But my family and the men who worked with them brought out the very worst of me. Mac treating me like another of the dogs had done nothing for my mood either. And since anger and annoyance weren’t sexy, I would have to wait to speak to Robin until later. When we finally stopped that evening, I’d go over and introduce myself. At the moment, I just needed to concentrate on the drive. I promised myself I would never, ever again put myself in the position to owe Stefan Joss anything.
Live and learn.
FIVE
The river we came upon late in the afternoon wasn’t that deep, only up to my chest, but that didn’t mean the calves could move through the water without drowning. Most of the drives I’d been on, the cattle would be taken across, and if the calves went under, only then would the wranglers get off their horses to save them. Not every calf in every situation was saved, though, and I hated that. Plus, nervous mothers and scared babies were a whole other danger to the animals. To mitigate that, I always got in the water. This time I dismounted, left Juju drinking, and started the process of carrying the babies. Once they were in the water, with me next to them, talking to them, it was fine. Getting out of the water, once their feet hit the bottom on the incline, that was great too. It was getting them to the edge of the river and into the water that was always the problem. I got kicked a lot and went under more times than I could count, and it took forever to get all twenty of them from one side to the other. The mothers followed dutifully once they saw me carrying their babies.
I was sitting on the other side, pouring water out of my boots, when Rand came riding up along with Mac and Zach.
“What the fuck is taking you so long back here?” When Rand saw I was by myself, he added, “And where the hell are Pierce and Tom?” His tone implied I should know.
I looked up at him, squinted, and waited for him to figure it out as I wrung out my shirttails.
“You’re supposed to have two more guys with you,” Rand insisted, scanning both sides of the river, turning around in the saddle to check the area before returning his attention to me. “Did you send them away?”
“Like anyone would listen to me,” I groused.
“Well, then where the hell are they?”
“Your guess is as good as mine, boss man,” I replied, clipping my words.
Zach moved his horse up beside Rand’s stallion and glowered down at me. “Why the hell are you wet and…oh.” He groaned, turning in his saddle to look at the calves prancing around their mothers fifty feet from us. “Jesus, Glenn.”